Robert Juliat Followspots Go to the Head of the Class At UC Berkeley and Ithaca College

The University of California at Berkeley and Ithaca College (NY) have added Robert Juliat Cyrano and Buxie followspots, respectively, to their theatrical lighting inventories.

UC Berkeley has invested in four Cyrano followspots purchased from Musson Theatrical. "They asked for several demos and were excited about the Cyranos," says Musson Theatrical's Dinna Myers. "Robert Juliat is known for high-quality optics in the followspot market - they're rapidly becoming the leader in that sector."

Jeremy Little is an ETCP-certified electrician and master electrician with Cal Performances, the UC Berkeley-based presenting, commissioning and producing organization for world-class music, dance and theater. He recalls working with Cyranos when he toured as a followspot operator. "They were very fun to drive," he says. "The user interface is great, all the controls are centralized, and there is pre-focused lamp control. So they're very easy for the operators to work with day in, day out." When the university needed four matched followspots for its Zellerbach Auditorium, Cyranos were the logical choice.

"We just completed our training for the Cyranos with Robert Juliat," Little reports. "Our big show this season is 'Einstein On The Beach,' which calls for all four followspots. It will put the Cyranos to the test all at once."

Ithaca College acquired four Buxie followspots from BMI Supply for its Clark Theater, the school's smaller performance space. "We were really excited to get Adam Klein at Ithaca College what he needed. He sent very detailed specs of what he was looking for: Two followspots with tripods and two without," reports Steve Michalek, at BMI Supply.

Ithaca College is no stranger to Robert Juliat fixtures. "We already have two Super Korrigans (1200-watt HMI followspots) in our inventory, our design faculty was very happy with them and we wanted to stay with Juliat," Klein says. "Size and optics were factors in our choice. We were looking for HID followspots with a small form factor for our smaller performance space - they had to fit on our catwalk. We saw the Buxies at USITT, and they looked great. No other followspots matched the optical clarity that the Buxies had."

The followspots will primarily be used for a full round or three-quarter thrust space hosting dramas and musicals. "This year we are presenting 'Spring Awakening' and will definitely use the Buxies on that show," says Klein. "We can also use them as supplemental followspots in our larger performance space."

He notes that, "one of the nice things about the Buxies is that we won't just use them on tripod stands: We can also hang them yoke up off of a pipe. They were far more affordable than we originally planned, too, so that allowed us to get a lot of accessories. Optics, output, HID, price - we're really happy with our purchase!"

Robert Juliat is a three-generation, independent family-run company dedicated to the manufacturing of professional stage lighting products. Robert Juliat lights are used by customers who include Cirque du Soleil, Celine Dion, New York's Lincoln Center, LA's Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Bruce Springsteen, Disney Theme Parks, Carnegie Hall, The San Francisco Opera and Ballet, The Royal Shakespeare Company, The Comedie Francaise, The Sydney Opera House, plus theatres, schools and public venues around the world.

R&D, production and the company headquarters are based in the village of Fresnoy-en-Thelle, 50 km north of Paris. Robert Juliat USA is located in Wallingford, Connecticut. For more information visit www.robertjuliatamerica.com.